Railway-track.



T. G. MCNEILL.

RAILWAY TRACK. APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 1o, 1914.

Patfmted Jan. 26, 1915.

THOMAS G. MCNEILL, F LUDLOW, CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY-TRACK.

Specication'of Letters Patent.

Patented dan. 2b?, i @i Application led JunelO, 1914. Serial No. 8Ad24s.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS G. MoNninn, acitizen of the United States, residing 1n Ludlow, Stagg P. O., in thecounty of clear, and exact description.

Myinventionrelates to a means for holding track railsin a manner toprevent creeping of the track, lor of either rail thereof,-

my improved rail-holding means, moreover, being formed and positioned toprevent destruction of the same by expansion or contractionof the rails`In carrying out the invention, a rail-,engaging element is provided, ofa width to be received between the rails and to lie at opposite sidesadjacent to the respective rails, and provided with flanges conformingto the flanges and webs ofthe rail. rThe said element is preferably inthe form of an annulus which gives the necessary strength with a minimumweight of material. Suitable fastening ymeans are provided to secure theelement to the rails. The annulus is secured also to the ties and hasassociated therewith elongated bars ranging lengthwise of the trackbetween the rails in opposite directions from the annulus, said barsbeing properly fastened to the ties.

The invention will be more particularly explained inthe specificdescription followf ing.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming apart ofthis speciication, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a plan view of a section .of railway track having myinvention embodied therein; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section onan enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a separate fragmentary plan view of thetrack-holding means; Fig.' 4 is a transverse vertical section throughone of the rails and the adjacent portion of my improved trackholdingdevice; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view showing a means outside ofthe rail for fastening my improved railholding device.1

In constructing a track embodying my invention, a centralfelement 10 isprovided, preferably in the form of a fiat ring having a diameter to bereceived between the track I rails A on top of the ties B. The said ringis flattened at the sides and provided with upturne'd ianges to lieparallel with `aud adjacent to the rails, at the inside of the latter. The said anges are shaped to conform to the flange and web of the rail.Thus an inclined member l1 is adapted to overlie the rail iiange, andthe vertical member I2 is adapted to lie adjacent to the web of therail. The iianges thus formed on the ring l0 and composed of the members11 and 12 are secured in position by elongated straps 13, 14, at ,theinside and outside of'the rail, respectively, and bolts extendtransversely to the said straps through the rail and through the uprightflange member 12.4 A Nuts 16y on thebolts 15 completethe connection. Theouter strap plate 14 is thickened at the upper edge to provide alongitudinal rib 14a beneath which the bolt head 15a is received andprevented from turning.

'l In orderto firmly secure the ring 10 to the ties B, holes 17 areprovided to receive lag screws 18 to engage the ties therebeneathbetween the track rails. ceive the plain necks of the lag screws, whilethe threads of the screws enter the ties, the

said lag screws being of a known form having the plain necks asspecified. Thus the ringis directly secured to the ties at approximatelydiametrically opposite points on the ring.

' Associated with the ring 10 are elongated bars 19, extending inopposite directions from the ring -at diametrically opposite sides andranging lengthwise of the track,

midway between the rails. The said bars 19 are preferably formed ofhalf-inch boiler plate approximately six inches wide, and are secured tothe ring l() by bolts 20 and to the ties by lag screws 21.

The rings with their bars 19 are in practice securedthroughout the wholelength of the track at intervals of, say, five hundred or one thousandfeet, and each ring 10 is positioned between the ends of the rails andnot at the joints, the varrangement being designed to minimize thedisruptive tendency of expansion and contraction in the rails, as wellas to prevent creeping of the rails.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent: f

1. The combination with a railway track The holes 17 re-I l meanscomprising` an element extending transversely between the rails andfastened to said rails,and means for securing said element to the ties,said last mentioned means comprising elongated bars rigidly secured tosaid element and ranging lengthwise of tbe track, said bars beingfastened to the ties.

2. A holding means for track rails, comprising an annulus'baying adiameter to be received between the track rails with its sides adjacentto said rails, means fastening the annulus to the respective rails, andmeans for fastening the annulus to the ties.

3. A holding-means for track rails, comprising an annulus having adiameter to be received between the track rails with its sides adjacentto said rails, means for fastening the annulus to the respective rails,and means for fastening the annulus to the tiesysaid last mentionedmeans comprising elongated bars extending in opposite directions fromthe-annulus, and connected with the latter.

directly securing the said annulns to the ties beneath the same atapproximately diametrically opposite sides of the annnlns between therails, elongated bars extending in opposite directions from the annulusand ranging longitudinally of the track between the rails, and lagscrews securing said bars to the ties. v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS G. MCNELL. lVitnesses A. W. BAYLOR., R. H. LYMAN.

